Holy Armageddon, Batman!

Armageddon. Raining fire, the battle between good and evil and the death of comic books. Welcome to the future of illustration and fantasy: When it arrives, there might be nothing left. \nWith the near bankruptcy of Marvel, one of the comic industry's two main superpowers, dropping purchase rates, various time-consuming distractions besides comics and the general buzz of dissatisfaction with spandex-clad superheros, some creators are predicting the end. The elimination of comics as we know them. At the same time, some disagree. \nMarvel comic sales have fallen from $850 million in 1993 to $275 million in 1999, U.S. News and World Report Online reports. The number of comic shops went down from about 10,000 to 3,400. \nCompanies such as Marvel now rely on monthly books for the majority of sales, putting out 20-30 page comics for about $3 a pop. Trade paperbacks, collections of many issues in a single, more sturdy format, are drawing an increased number of buyers.\nDespite Marvel's close downfall, Don Wilds, the guy behind the counter at the Vintage Phoenix comic shop downtown, says the sales and customer stream have been pretty consistent since he opened the store with some friends in 1974. Wilds also testifies to the success of trade paperbacks.\nLike many, Wilds started perusing this particular literary form as a boy and got back into it during college. He says people become enamored with comics for different reasons, especially since the birth of independent publishers. Now, almost every interest can take refuge in inked fantasy worlds.\nWilds can't see his audience changing vastly in the future. The predicted demise has had little or no effect on local business, says the employee of Vintage, 114 E. Sixth St. On Wednesdays, "new comics days," customers still crowd the store.\nThe biggest purchasing change locally involves the diverse array of comics available. Instead of one X-Men title to buy every month, there are several, a factor that drives individual book demand down. The same audience is now spread over multiple books instead of one. \nComics today are vastly different than the pencil and ink of the past in more ways than one. It used to be the only thing available were superhero stories, brought to the newsstand through magazine distributors. Today, although Marvel and DC still fly higher than everyone else, some independent publishers have sprung up to offer everything from subtle satirical commentary to crime stories. Comics are distributed through Diamond, one powerful company that sends books to be sold and bought in special comic shops.\nAlthough people seem to be complaining about the abundance of costumed and caped action, about 90 of Diamond's top 100-selling titles for March are spandex-driven. This overall wallet and purse support of the medium and the availability of independent books can lend some hope to comic book fans for the future.\nReaders sick of the patriotic superhero plot can find comics about futuristic and bitter journalists, sarcastic clergymen who befriend vampires or manga, the wide-eyed and cartoony style flown over from Japan in recent years. These books are aimed at an older audience than the comics of before, with plot lines that deal not only with good versus evil, but also human relationships and politics. \n"It seems to be something everyone has been saying for the last 50 years," graduate student Arne Flaten says about the predicted demise. Flaten taught the class The History of Comic Book Art for five semesters.\nCombine these factors, and "Holy cow, Batman!", the comic world seems more unstable than it used to be, say worldly pros such as Warren Ellis and Steven Grant. Ellis writes various books including "Transmetropolitan" with Darick Robertson and has worked on Marvel books before. Grant does various titles, most recently Marvel's "X-man."\nBoth predict the end of innocence. Comics just aren't for kiddies anymore, and soon they might die of old age.\nMuch of the problem could be in the nature of the work. Most lucrative projects don't require the artist to sell his soul to a corporation that's actual standard industry classification is "Dolls and Stuffed Toys."\n"Most of the writers of my generation have gone to Marvel to write superhero comics," writes Ellis in the Dec. 29 installment of his column, "Come in Alone." The column used to run weekly on ComicBookResources.com.\nNothing is wrong with this, of course, unless the writer-artist is concerned with putting something new into the world or maintaining control over what he or she creates, Ellis says. Marvel hires various people to do the same comic, paying royalties and keeping the credit. And Marvel does superhero comics. Think "X-Men" and "Spiderman." \nEllis goes on to compare the proliferation of superhero comics in the genre as going to a bookstore full of nurse novels. There isn't much selection. \nGrant agrees.\n"Superheros, at least to the American public, are goofy costumes and goofy names and ridiculous fight scenes and, as a layover from pre-post-ironic days, corny speeches about Mom and apple pie." \nSuperheros bore Grant now, despite his work with Marvel. Such a job is often the only way a comic star can earn enough money to make a living, he says. \nGrant calls 2001 "The Year of Blood" in his ComicBookResources.com column "Master of the Obvious." \n"Fact: any publisher could change the course of the industry at this point. But they'd have to have a new idea," Grant continues. \n"This is the worst it's ever been," freshman comic junkie Matt Stevons says. Growing up with "Preacher" and looking for a future in the industry, Stevons blames the loss of interest in superheros and comics' poor business model for the decline he sees as inevitable. \nTo save the genre, Stevons thinks the industry must rely more heavily on trade paperbacks and actually produce more "stuff that doesn't suck."\nAt the moment, non-traditional comics are seemingly being accepted as a viable art form, Flaten says. Maus, a 1980s graphic novel depicting the Holocaust from a personified rodent's viewpoint, won creator Art Spiegelman a Pulitzer and is used in university literature courses. Other graphic novels such as "Sandman" and "The Watchmen" are elbowing their way into chain bookstores such as Barnes & Noble with their increased appeal. Everyone can find a comic they are interested in, Flaten says.\nComics have survived McCarthyism, Flaten says. He compares the superhero genre to that of the Greek gods. Superman is essentially Celtic literary hero Beowulf, Flaten says, and interest in the heroes will never completely die. \n"I know there's a crisis … but comics have withstood a lot worse than this," Flaten says.\nWill Superman fly again? Will Wolverine ever stop scowling? Will Spidey ever learn that full body spandex just isn't attractive? \nTo be continued …